About Our Team

I have been an educational administrator in various capacities for the past 19 years and an educator for 24 years. I am focused on technology integration and evolving our teachers to make a transformation for their students by creating engaging and rigorous lessons that will develop our students to their uppermost capacity. I am excited to be a Ridgewood Ram and to help bring our school to the highest level possible. Work Experience

High School Principal

Middle School Principal

Elementary Principal

Employee Relations Supervisor

Chief Contract Negotiator

Educational Consultant, Advanced Learning Partnerships

Preparing New Principals Facilitator

Adjunct Faculty, USF & St. Leo

Teacher Academic Qualifications Ed.D. Educational Leadership University of South Florida

Principal

I am originally from Pennsylvania and have lived in Pasco County for over seventeen years. I earned my Bachelors of Science in Secondary Education with a concentration in Social Sciences from Kutztown University. I earned my Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Saint Leo University. I started teaching at River Ridge Middle High School and had the opportunity to coach there as well. I have also had the opportunity to work at Hudson High School, Fivay High School and now here at Ridgewood High School. I look forward to working with the RAM family and ensuring that all the students are college, career, and life ready.

Email to Mr. Hermansen

Email to Ms. Martanovic

I was raised in Pasco County and graduated from Gulf High School. I went on to earn my Bachelors in Psychology at Southeastern University in Lakeland, FL and then my Masters in Guidance and Counseling K-12, Certificate in Mental Health and Certificate in Educational Leadership from the University of South Florida. I have been a School Counselor for 10 years at J.W. Mitchell and Gulf High Schools.

Email to Ms. Painter

Thank you for such a warm welcome to Ridgewood High School’s family. I am honored and extremely excited to join you and support your efforts to provide a world-class education for all students. I have nearly 20 years of experience working in various roles in public schools. I am a firm believer in servant leadership and that with a positive outlook we can affect positive outcomes.

After earning my bachelor’s degree in English from the University of South Florida in 1995, I accepted a position as a middle school language arts and reading teacher at D.S. Parrott Middle School in my hometown, Brooksville, Florida. After two years teaching at the middle school level, I moved with my wife and her family to Cody, Wyoming, where I taught high school English, expository writing, desktop publishing and journalism for seven years. I also coached basketball and academic decathlon teams and served as Cody High School’s National Honor Society sponsor. I attended the University of Nebraska’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications part time and earned my master’s degree in 2005. After graduation, homesick and frozen, my family and I moved back to Florida, and I taught communications courses at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville for five semesters. I accepted a teaching position at Hernando High School, my alma mater, in 2007. I then accepted a grant writing position at the district office in 2008. I was successful in this role. I acquired more than $8 million in grant funding for schools in four years as grant writer and state and federal grants manager. I was promoted to director in 2011 and, in addition to facilitating district accreditation and managing the Race to the Top and 1003(g) SIG grants, I led the district’s assessment, professional development and federal programs departments. I also attended the University of South Florida’s College of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies part time. Considering my background and strengths in communications, the superintendent selected me to serve as the district’s public information officer in 2014 and appointed me to serve as deputy superintendent in 2015.

After eight years of service as a district office administrator, I found myself longing for daily interactions with students and realized I needed to return home to a high school campus as soon as possible. I am married to a registered nurse who manages accountable care organizations. My son, River, will be a senior at Weeki Wachee High School in 2016-17, and my daughter, Meadow, is entering fourth grade at Winding Waters K-8.

I look forward to meeting our students, families, faculty and staff and learning how I can best support you in achieving your goals. Go Rams!